Don't cry over spilled milk
Meaning: Don't worry about things that have already happened.
Origin: The earliest known form is "No weeping for shed milk," in James Howell's collection of proverbs (1659). Milk once spilled cannot be gathered up, so grieving over it is wasted effort. The modern "no use crying over spilt milk" was common by the 19th century.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Ce qui est fait est fait (literally: What is done is done)
- Spanish: A lo hecho, pecho (literally: To what is done, chest)
- Japanese: 覆水盆に返らず (Fukusui bon ni kaerazu) (literally: Spilled water doesn't return to the basin)
- German: Geschehen ist geschehen (literally: What has happened has happened)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- A penny saved is a penny earned — Saving money is just as valuable as earning it.
- Easy come, easy go — Things obtained without effort are easily lost.
- The proof is in the pudding — Results speak louder than promises.
- Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it — Ignoring past mistakes leads to repeating them.
- The early worm gets eaten — Being first isn't always advantageous — sometimes it's risky.
- Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater — Don't discard something valuable while getting rid of unwanted things.